Sony Pictures Television Networks’ (SPTN) first Italian free-to-air TV channel is slated to launch early next month as Pop.<\/p>\n
Following SPTN’s acquisition of Neko TV from Television Broadcasting System, the\u00a0network\u00a0will rebrand as Pop and feature a variety of new and exclusive premieres. Pop, which\u00a0debuted\u00a0in the U.K. in 2003, is meant for young viewers between the ages of 6 and 9. The channel will become available in Italy on May 4. It will offer such children’s series as The Deep<\/em>, Kuu Kuu Harajuku<\/em>, The Insectibles<\/em> and Power Rangers Ninja Steel<\/em>.<\/p>\n Pop will also work with local production companies; the first collaboration is with Maga Animation to create a series of short-form animation interstitials. In addition, the\u00a0channel will be complemented by a website featuring interactive games, Pop’s exclusive Artpad and videos.<\/p>\n Kate Marsh, the executive VP of Sony Pictures Television’s Western Europe international networks division, said: \u201cToday marks a new era in our European business, as we announce the launch of Pop\u2014SPTN\u2019s leading kids’ brand and first free-to-air channel in the growing Italian DTT market. Sony\u2019s Pop television network has been a big hit with kids elsewhere in Europe and now we\u2019re thrilled to launch the channel in Italy, offering kids and families popular program franchises and first-run shows such as Kuu Kuu Harajuku<\/em>, Wild Kratts<\/em> and The Insectibles<\/em>, which will be completely new for Italian free-to-air audiences, and exclusive to Pop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sony Pictures Television Networks’ (SPTN) first Italian free-to-air TV channel is slated to launch early next month as Pop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":12121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1697,2509],"class_list":["post-12120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-pop","tag-sony-pictures-television-networks","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n